Dhaka:

Five people were killed in Bangladesh after a passenger train caught fire Friday, with police suspecting an arson attack during unrest ahead of national elections boycotted by the opposition.

Fire service officer Rakjibul Hasan said at least four coaches caught fire on the Benapole Express, arriving in the capital Dhaka from the western city of Jessore.

“We have recovered five bodies,” police commander Khandaker Al Moin told reporters.

Witnesses said the train caught fire at Gopibagh, in an old part of Dhaka near the megacity’s main rail terminal.

An unnamed rescuer told private broadcaster Somoy TV that hundreds had rushed to pull people out of the burning train.

“We rescued many. But the fire spread quickly,” he said.

Somoy TV said some Indian citizens were also traveling on the train.

“We suspect the fire incident was an act of sabotage,” police chief Anwar Hossain told AFP, without giving more details.

Last month the police and government blamed the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for another train fire that left four people dead.

The BNP rejected involvement in that incident, saying it had been unfairly blamed as a pretext for a government crackdown on opposition parties.

Bangladesh will vote in national elections Sunday but the BNP and dozens of other parties have boycotted what they have described as a “sham” vote.

Thousands of opposition activists were arrested late last year after a protest campaign demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)